For the last couple of months I’ve been on a weight loss journey. One phase of the program that I was on had me eating a very low fat diet. I was allowed to have lean meat and fish but no oil. It caused me to completely re-look at the way I was eating and take note of how often I was using butter or oil for cooking, when I really didn’t need to!

Don’t get me wrong, I KNOW how good butter can make things taste, in no way am I saying to stop using butter… BUT sometimes food tastes just as good without the oil– in my opinion, asparagus is one of those things!

I’ve always blanched asparagus, but I was eating a lot of asparagus during my weight loss program and wanted to mix things up a bit, so I decided to experiment with roasting it.

Turns out that roasting asparagus without any oil is delicious and easy!

Read on to learn how to Roast Asparagus Without Oil AKA Dry Roasted Asparagus

Step 1: Wash your asparagus. Asparagus grows up from underneath the ground and the crowns can get dirt and silt in it. Make sure to give it a good rinse.

Step 2: Snap the bottom, woody bits off of your asparagus. Hold the asparagus near the bottom with your right hand using your finger and thumb and towards the middle of the asparagus with your right. Bend the asparagus using your right hand. It will naturally snap where the tough, woody part ends.

Step 3: Put your aparagus into your roasting vessel and sprinkle with sea salt. I love baking my asparagus in my cast iron frying pans. If I want to make a bigger batch I either break the asparagus into smaller pieces or do it on a non stick cookie sheet. You could also use a glass baking dish but I love the way the metal gives the bottom of the asparagus a bit of caramelization.

Step 4: Roast asparagus on the top rack of your oven at 450F for 7-10 minutes (or until asparagus has reached the level of doneness that you like.)

Enjoy! I love serving this asparagus with a piece of protein like steak, chicken or shrimp, chopped up in a frittata, or as weird as it may sound all on it’s own as an afternoon snack!

I love playing “Suzy Homemaker” and exploring in the kitchen. Sometimes the most basic recipes are the most delicious, but sometimes those recipes aren’t common knowledge for everyone… hence my Back-To-Basics Series was born.

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